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Turia’s baby miracle: I’m the happiest I’ve ever been!; A bee sting nearly killed me; Sheridan’s the best
Turia Pitt admits she didn’t know if she would be able to have children, despite always daring herself to dream big over the past few years. So she was left speechless with happiness – and surprise – to discover she’d become pregnant.
“It wasn’t something we were expecting,” the 29-yearold tells The Australian Women’s Weekly, adding she did six pregnancy tests before she finally felt convinced. “I was packing to go to Everest base camp. I had a thousand different things on my mind, but falling pregnant was not one of them. Part of me was saying, ‘This can’t be happening,’ but another was saying, ‘Wow, what if it is?’ I was really happy but sort of stunned too.”
She surprised fiancé Michael Hoskin, 32, while he was brushing his teeth, she told 60Minutes. “I just walked in and I left the pregnancy stick there,” reveals Turia, who is now 16 weeks into her pregnancy and showing the beginnings of a small baby bump.
“We’re stoked!” exclaims Michael, grinning from ear to ear. “Turia told me the other day, she’s the happiest she’s ever been in her life.”
Turia – who suffered burns to 65% of her body after getting caught in a bush fire while competing in an ultramarathon in Western Australia’s Kimberley region in 2011 – is just thankful she is still around to experience the magic of becoming a mum.
Both Michael and Turia say that learning she might still be able to have babies after the fire gave them a focus during the dark days of Turia’s early recovery.
“That was one of the main things that helped me find the will to keep going,” Turia reveals, adding that if they had found they couldn’t conceive naturally, they would have adopted or focused on other areas of their life together.
Turia’s stomach was one of the few parts of her body that wasn’t burnt, so the baby is expected to grow normally and the skin on her tummy will expand as the foetus grows.
Seeing an early ultrasound brought it all home for the couple, who’d decided to try for a baby at the end of this year. “When we had the scan, I was so over the moon,” says Turia. “I was stoked, so happy I didn’t really know what to say. It was just an incredible moment.”
While Michael couldn’t resist finding out the baby’s sex, Turia is determined to be surprised again when their little miracle arrives in December.
When it comes to being a mum, Tahitian-born Turia has a great role model in her own mother Celestine, who has been a constant source of strength to her daughter.
“It’s a miracle for Turia and a miracle for Michael,” says Celestine, 50, adding, “Having this baby between us is bringing us even closer than we were.”
Turia has no doubt Michael is going to make an excellent father. “He had to look after
me for years and he was so patient, so caring,” recalls Turia. “Those qualities, especially in a parent, are really desirable.”
As for whether they’ll be able to handle sleepless nights and nappy changing, Michael says they’ve got it covered.
“We’ve been through something pretty traumatic and we’re past that stage now,” he says. “I reckon this will be more fun!”
When we had the scan, I was so over the moon. It was incredible’